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MONTGOMERY PARK

ADDRESS: 2701 NW Vaughn St. OWNER: LLC controlled by Unico Properties

MARKET VALUE: $187.3 million

SITUATION: Market value is 27% less than last sales price ($255 million); liens.

See above right for more information.

MAKE ADDRESS: 2151 NW Savier St.

OWNER: Cred Slabtown II LLC

MARKET VALUE: $42.2 million

SITUATION: Turned over to lender in lieu of foreclosure

BUILDING: Montgomery Park

ADDRESS: 2701 NW Vaughn St.

YEAR BUILT: 1921

SQUARE FOOTAGE: 745,000

OWNER: LLC controlled by Unico Properties

SITUATION: Market value is 27% less than last sales price ($255 million); liens.

Back in the day, Montgomery Park was a Montgomery Ward department store and catalog warehouse. It was the biggest building in the city when it was built. The retailer cleared out in 1985 when Bill and Sam Naito bought the place and turned it into offices and a convention center. It’s been an office complex ever since.

Seattle-based Unico bought Montgomery Park for $255 million in April 2019. Back then, interest rates were low, and tech companies were migrating from downtown San Francisco to downtown Portland to take advantage of lower rents and the haute-hipster lifestyle.

But COVID-19 arrived, and tech firms were among the first to send workers home indefinitely. The market for Portland real estate dried up. Now, Montgomery Park has a market value of $187,281,980, according to county records, down 27% from what Unico paid.

So far, there’s no sign that Unico, which owns 17 properties in Portland, is going to default. It’s up to date on its taxes, having paid $1.8 million in 2022. But there are signs of distress. As first reported by the Portland Business Journal, Turner Construction filed a construction lien against Montgomery Park in June, claiming it’s owed $2.1 million for building improvements. A subcontractor, Culver Glass Co., filed a lien for $167,407.50.

Turner’s lien says Unico planned to pay the construction company $89.9 million for a 2022 project called “Unico-Montgomery Park Building Repositioning.” Contractors file liens when they are having trouble getting paid. It’s something of a last resort because no one wants to piss off a client. Unico declined to comment on the matter, as did Turner. Neither Culver Glass nor Turner didn’t return a call seeking comment.